New hope for the treatment of advanced lung cancer

  Lung cancer is by far the most common malignancy. Surgical resection remains the primary treatment for lung cancer. However, about 80% of lung cancer patients who have been found to be advanced or metastatic at the time of diagnosis lose the chance of surgical treatment and require chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and molecular targeted and cellular immunotherapy. The effect of each of these therapies is limited, therefore, combination therapy has become the main method of lung cancer treatment, whose main purpose is to kill tumor cells to a greater extent so as to improve the quality of life and prolong the survival of patients with advanced lung cancer.  Broadly speaking, our immune cells are derived from hematopoietic stem cells, which can be differentiated into B cells, T cells and NK cells, each of which has its own special markers for better human identification for the purpose of research and medical treatment.  The full name of CIK cells is cytokine-induced killer cells. As the name implies, these cells have a killing effect and can be induced to differentiate by cytokines. Tests have proven that there is a correlation between the efficacy of CIK cells and the amount of CIK cells treated and the amount of residual tumor cells in the body. Under normal circumstances, human CD3 and CD56 phenotype cells only account for 1% to 5% of peripheral blood cells, tumor patients T-cell function is even lower, CIK cell immunotherapy is isolated from human peripheral blood CD3, CD56 and CD4, CD8 and other cells, in vitro through interferon, interleukin and other biological agents after a large number of expansion, so that the number of several hundred times, and then in several times back into the patient. The immune cells transfused back to the patient’s body have 10 times more ability to kill cancer, and it will achieve better killing of tumor cells by playing its own cytotoxicity and secreting cytokines to kill tumor cells directly.  Hefei Binhu Hospital has been using this therapy since last December, together with chemotherapy, molecular targeting therapy or alone, and has achieved satisfactory results. In November 2010, the patient was treated with CIK immunocellular therapy, and his symptoms improved. In January 2011, he developed lung infection and pleural fluid, and anti-infection was ineffective.  Patient, male, 70 years old, diagnosed with lung cancer by PET-CT at Guangdong Southern Hospital in April 2006 due to cough and hemoptysis, refused surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. in October 2010, due to chest tightness, lung puncture indicated squamous lung cancer, refused chemotherapy. in January 2011, due to increased chest tightness and inability to move, CIK cell therapy was given and symptoms improved significantly.  The patient, female, 52 years old, was hospitalized in December 2010 for pleural effusion and adenocarcinoma cells were detected in the pleural fluid. She was given 2 courses of Kenzyme + cisplatin along with CIK cell therapy, and the pleural fluid disappeared on re-examination of CT, and the lesions in the lung were significantly reduced, with no adverse effects during chemotherapy.  From the above three typical cases, we can see that CIK cell therapy in combination with chemotherapy and molecular targeting therapy have shown certain efficacy, with the emergence of new cell therapy efficacy will be further enhanced, we are studying the use of direct sensitization of tumor cells to kill cells, selective tumor killing, more specific, is expected to have better efficacy.